Just For Fun, and I'm Procrastinating

The other day when we were having our "blast to the past" fun, Eliana would not be left out.  She made it clear that her hair must go in curlers, and her picture must be taken.  She was indignant if I left the room with the camera..."You haffa take my pit-chure!!" she would cry out.

Am I one to pass up photo opportunities?

I think not.

For a long time I thought Eliana looked exactly like me, like the spitting-image kind of likeness, especially me when I was a toddler.  I think all of our children are a good mix of both Mike and me, but my memory of my baby pictures led me to believe that she favored mommy more than Michaela and Christian did.

While I still think she looks very much like me

when I look at our pictures side by side, I can see

there are differences that I couldn't see in my mind.

The big-time belly laugh is where I think the resemblance is high.

She has my very round cheeks, and pointed chin.  She has my goofy, charmingly close together, sticking out a little bit, will surely require braces and teeth extraction front teeth.  She has my happy eyes.

But look closely and you'll see my face is longer, and hers is rounder.  She has a small indentation on her cheek, that is barely noticeable except when she smiles really big.

There are certainly some clear similarities in spite of the differences, but I think this next picture is the best capture of how much she resembles her mommy...

Could there be any doubt as to where this girl came from?  My genes, they are strong. 

Then Me, Now Me

I Heart Faces is having a fun week, with no judging.  The challenge this time is pretty funny.  They were inspired by the young-me-now-me website, which if you have a chance to swing by will make you laugh out loud.

This challenge requires one picture of you (the submitter) when you were young, and a picture of you (the submitter) reenacting the same picture now. 

Think about that for a minute.  Pretty funny.

I just happened to have several photos of myself when I was a toddler.  I am in my undies in most of them.  While I am willing to put a lot of things on this blog, a photo of me in my underwear now is not one of them.  So, I went with this picture instead...

I love that picture.  I think it's cute.

Michaela and I had some fun recreating this scene and getting a new picture.  First there were curlers, then there was the figuring out how to arrange things, and what was that on the back of the sofa anyway?  This is what we came up with...

I look like a little old lady.

The only thing left to say is, Mom, what was in the box on the couch?  I am really curious.

It's fun to make fun of yourself.  Hope this made you smile.  Head over to I Heart Faces to see some other creative, funny, and some sweet, takes on this theme.

A Little Game

A sweet bloggy friend of mine tagged me in a game.  Jaime is a witty mommy who used to be a teacher, and she writes most things on her blog in rhymes.  It's cute!  I have enjoyed very much getting to know her through her blog, through comments, and even in some email conversations back and forth.  She has been very encouraging to me, and always has a kind word and an enthusiastic response.  Who wouldn't love that?!

So, the game goes like this:  I am now supposed to answer five questions with five answers each.  Let's see if I am smart enough to accomplish this feat.  (She answered all of her questions in rhyming couplets...clever and funny!)

Where were you five years ago?

1.  This is already hurting my brain...five years ago we lived in Louisville, Kentucky. We had just moved there from New Jersey.

Part of our living room

2.  Five years ago, I was visiting a valley after our move, since we had just left some very good friends in seminary.

3.  I was in the kitchen a lot, and on the playground with my two-year-old and my four-year-old just as much.

The kitchen

4.  I went to the pool without shaving, since it was in our backyard.

5.  I was getting involved in a new church and trying to make new friends.

Where would you like to be five years from now?

1.  I would like to be in any place that does not have roaches.  Or mice.  Or rats.  Or roaches.  I don't mind if that place is in Dallas...but I'm afraid that there is nowhere to go to avoid the roaches.  Have I mentioned before how much I don't like roaches?  (Why, yes, there are three separate posts for your reading enjoyment about these heinous creatures.)

2.  I would like to be a little more mature in my faith.  (It might be that the Lord will keep me quite near the roaches so that this happens.  I am not looking forward to that in some ways.)

3.  I would like to be exercising and eating more vegetables.  (Preferably starting before five years from now.)

4.  I would like to be out from under my aggressive laundry pile.  It is sitting on me and stealing my lunch money.

5.  I would like to be a sweeter mom.  (Again, hopefully this will happen before five years from now.)

What is on your to-do list today?

1.  Only five things?  Well...that's nice!  First, there is laundry:  to wash, to dry, to fold, to put away, to pick up from the four corners of the earth (or my house), to ignore.  I'm really good at the last part there.  Like, an expert.

2.  Organize our house.  Ha!  That is on my to-do list for the decade.

3.  Go to the store...I did this earlier, and then Eliana asked for popcorn this afternoon and I realized I forgot that.

4.  Wash my hair.  It.  Is.  Time.

5.  Do the dishes, sweep the floors, back to the laundry, clean a toilet, stitching for Christian's class, clean the car out, and take a nap.  Beginning with the end.  Priorities, people!

What five snacks do you enjoy?

1.  Chocolate cake

2.  Chocolate bars

3.  Chocolate cereal

4.  Chocolate cookies

5.  Pepsi (a really cold one)

(Well-rounded, no?  The bars are often fortified.)

What would you do if you were a billionaire?

1.  I would tithe, right away, assuming that it came in a lump sum.  That would be weird, wouldn't it?  "Hey, Christina...here is a cool billion for you!  Watch your back...that briefcase is heavy!"  I'm also assuming it would come in a briefcase.

2.  If I had money like that, I would have to give it to organizations who would use it wisely and who knew what they were doing.  I can't think of a better thing to do with it.  People who helped the hungry, or those who needed clothes, or shelter.  I would want to give it to organizations who work on stopping child trafficking, and the sex trade, especially.

3.  I would probably use some of the money to help with my children's education.

4.  I would like to give some of it to help with other children's education too, to a scholarship fund.

5.  I would eat a little chocolate.  (I usually have some on hand.  See above.)

Well...there you have it.  Looking at most of those answers I would have to conclude that I am a strange person.

Part of the game is that I get to tag a few other people to play the game.  Any guesses as to how many?

That's right...five! 

Here is the thing.  I am terrible about asking other people to do things.  Terrible!  I feel all anxious and my heart starts pounding and my throat feels like it's closing up.  Does anyone care if I skip that part?  Tell me if you think I should get over it.  And maybe I will.

A Tea Party

Christian was up at the crack of dawn this morning, which was a blessing in disguise.  Normally he is very hard to get up.  Since I had to be in his class with the stitching it really helped that he bounced out of bed bright and early...we had a lot of time to get ready and get out the door. 

He, of course, wore his nice clothes for the tea party.

I brought his tie over and he shouted,"Cool!  I get to wear a tie!"  It was very cute.  Then he said,"Do I look handsome?" 

Quite.  I think I am going to be in trouble one day.

I could write too much here about what a crazy morning it ended up being, but I think that I'm going to skip all that, at least for now.  The main thing is that in the end I had a plan for Eliana, got her set up, and went to the hostess' house to help prepare for the tea. 

They had already done so much!  This was her formal dining room, where several guests would take their tea, but it was also where the artwork was showcased.  It was amazing.  I was so impressed with what these children had created.  You can see some of their work in the picture above, and below is Christian's painting.

The title is A Flurry of Lines and Dots. 

Since we were there early, and there wasn't much left to do, I wandered and took pictures.

Our table

The silver is mine; I inherited it from a woman that my dad took care of for a long time.  It was very sweet of her to leave me her silver, as I didn't know her well.  But she loved my dad, and his family just as much.  This was the first time I had ever used it.

The china belongs to the grandmother of one of Christian's classmates.  China is so lovely, isn't it?

The dining room

The above tea set is an antique that belongs to one of the moms.  The china on the table was used for the first time today.  How fun!  Who would have thought - a first grade tea party for the inaugural use of one's wedding china.

The food

Strawberries and lovely little sandwiches...and scones.  You can't have tea without scones.

The children arrived in several cars and were announced at the door.  They carried with them the hats that they had made for the mothers and their special guests.

Once everyone had come in and all hats were given to the special ladies, we gave our attention to the artwork.  The school's art teacher was there, and had an award for each piece.  I wish I had a recording of the names of the awards!  She was so creative and each one was unique, paying attention to the style of art that each person used, as well as other things that were indicative of individual personalities.  Each child received a button for their work as well as a small framed picture of it.  One of the dads was present to speak about each artists' contribution and introduce the awards.  He did a great job.

Once the awards were done, we all sat down to tea!  Not before a picture, of course.

Christian wasn't sure what his tea was going to taste like...

But how can you go wrong with two lumps of sugar and milk in a two ounce cup of tea?

He liked it so much that he shouted across the table to his friend that it REALLY WAS GOOD!

This picture makes me laugh because he looks so unimpressed.  He liked the tea very much though.

Michaela, on the other hand, had a hard time getting hers right.  It was too sweet, and then too dark (her words).

She always takes these things in stride, though.  She is too sweet, and so very light!

What kind of mother would I be if I didn't get a picture of them together?

They are always so thrilled to get their picture taken with one another...

Indeed, what kind of tea party would it be without brotherly/sisterly love?

After everyone was done with their tea we all moved back into the living area for one final presentation.  We revisited the Sandcastle Competition as each team received a certificate for their sand creation.  Christian's team's castle was designated "The Most Mysterious". 

You can always tell when the end of the tea party is near by the untucked shirt. 

We said goodbye shortly after this.  The children in Christian's class are tight.  Toward the end of the tea party they were all piled on the sofa looking through the program which showcased each team's sandcastle.  I can't believe that this year is almost over, but what a year it has been.  They have learned so much, but even more than that, they have done so much.  He will remember this class and this year for a long time.

Stitching...It's Not Just for Fridays Anymore

Alert!  Alert!!

We are closing in on the end of the school year!  Excuse me as I lose consciousness over that fact.

Okay, I'm better.  I can't believe it is seriously the end of the year.  Most of the academic stuff that was going to happen in Christian's class has happened.  From now on it's smooth sailing.  They are still learning a ton of stuff, but the heavy duty material has been covered, and they have done their standardized testing.

This means something for me...stitching every morning until they're done or the year is over.  Of course, the first non-Friday that I was supposed to be there we had a terrible start to our day and I missed the whole thing.  Nice!  They don't call me The Crazy Stitching Lady for nothing!

I thought I would do a quick update, and show you the next-to-the-last square they are working on.  It's cute...

I know the outline on the material doesn't show up that well, but it's Paddington Bear.  Mrs. C. read the book to the class, and they have several class activities that are based on things that Paddington did.  One of those things was the Sandcastle Competition.  Another is an Art Contest, and yet another is a Tea Party.  Those two things will converge tomorrow, with the judging of the students' art at the Very Formal Tea Party.

The class made us fancy hats to wear!  We are using china and silver.  The real stuff!  We will be saying things like,"One lump or two?"

I wonder how many lumps will be in my throat while I'm watching this scene?  I hope I don't cry.  But I know I will.

Anyway, I have more to accomplish tonight than I can actually do, but I'm going to try!  So, I've got to get back to work...but tomorrow I'll have pictures from the party, and I will probably do another update soon on the stitching. 

Thank you for your patience as I piece this story together!  Just a little quilting humor, there.  Ha!  I crack myself up.